Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
American Express Co. is making it easier for its cardholders to use their points to buy a Big Mac sandwich at McDonald’s restaurants in the United States. The card issuer announced Tuesday that AmEx rewards points now can be used to pay for purchases at select McDonald’s locations with national …
Read More »Merchant Processor TransFirst Trades Private-Equity Owners While IPO Put On Hold
Merchant acquirer TransFirst Inc. has a new owner. Private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners, San Francisco, is buying Hauppauge, N.Y.-based TransFirst for an undisclosed amount, TransFirst announced Monday. This summer, TransFirst, which has more than 200,000 merchants, had planned a partial initial public offering with its current owner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson …
Read More »COMMENTARY: How History Is Repeating Itself With Apple Pay
If you are an issuer of Visa or MasterCard, your deadline for participating in the Apple Pay service set to debut later this month has already passed. It was Tuesday, and issuers didn’t have much time to think about it (let alone perform a technical due diligence or negotiate terms). …
Read More »First Data Chief Bisignano Hails New Spirit of Innovation, Asks To Be ‘Graded’
A humble Frank Bisignano told top non-bank acquirer executives Thursday that his company, processing giant First Data Corp., wasn’t “always good” at listening to its clients and asked the audience to hold him “personally accountable” for the company’s performance in the coming year. Bisignano, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. …
Read More »Heartland CEO Predicts Apple Pay Will Force MCX To Abandon Mobile-Wallet Exclusivity
Never one to mince words, Bob Carr, chief executive of the big merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc., predicts that demand for Apple Inc.’s new Apple Pay mobile-payment service will force the retailer-controlled Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) to abandon a policy of requiring its members to accept only MCX’s CurrentC …
Read More »Discover Exec Warns Top ISO Execs They Face Loss of Relevance in Wake of Apps
The arrival of technology companies and other new players in the payments business has left merchant processors scratching their heads over how to work with these emerging brands. Companies like Apple Inc., which has the potential to change both consumer and merchant behavior, have sent independent sales organizations scrambling to …
Read More »Boku Emboldens Mobile Carrier Billing Position With mopay Acquisition
San Francisco-based Boku Inc. has bought mopay Inc., bolstering its position among carrier billers, Boku announced Tuesday. Germany-based mopay, with a U.S. office in Palo Alto, Calif., says it processes more than 5 million monthly transactions and works with more than 400 mobile operators. Boku has built connections to …
Read More »Separation from PayPal Will Likely Free eBay to Add Wider Range of New Payments
One implication of the breakup of PayPal Inc. and its parent company eBay Inc., announced by eBay earlier this week and planned for next year, is that eBay will likely be free to add a slew of alternative-payment methods for sellers to accept on its online marketplaces. For years, eBay …
Read More »Walgreens Adds Western Union Money-Transfer Services to More Than 7,650 Stores
Finding a kiosk to make money transfers via Western Union Co. has become easier if there is a Walgreens or Duane Reade store nearby. Western Union and Walgreens announced this week a deal that makes Western Union money transfers available at the existing photo kiosks inside more than 7,650 Walgreens …
Read More »In an About Face, eBay Announces It Will Spin off PayPal Next Year
Somewhere, Carl Icahn is smiling. Ebay Inc.’s top management announced early Tuesday that the online auction pioneer is beginning preparations to spin off its PayPal Inc. unit some time in the second half of next year in a transaction that will result in eBay and PayPal operating as two independent, …
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